This invention relates to containers of the type including a base and four side panels coupled to the base so as to be able to fold down side panel over side panel and all over the base, and to which a lid can be fitted.
Forms of containers of the above type known to the applicant are usually found by users to have shortcomings. One shortcoming is that the panels are permanently connected to the base or are connected to the base in a manner requiring considerable work to be done to demount the panels. Ready demounting of the panels is desirable to facilitate cleaning of the container between uses and in some applications the ready demounting of one panel is required to facilitate the precise positioning of a liner bag in the container.
Another shortcoming is that the erection of the panels from the folded down storage condition to the secured upstanding operational condition on the base involves considerable manual effort when, as is the case with the known containers, the operator erecting the container has to lift the considerable weight of a panel in order to position it in the operational condition. In some containers the side panels are of different sizes and whilst the smaller panels can be manhandled with reasonable effort there is a need to minimise the effort required to erect the larger panels.
An object of the invention is to provide panel to base connections which allow the folding down of the panels and ready demounting of the panels from the base.
Another object is to provide a construction which minimises the effort needed by an operator to erect a panel and substantially limits the movement given to the panel by the operator to arcuate movement.
Other objects of the invention are to provide means whereby a panel of a container can be demounted from the base whilst the other three panels remain in the operational condition and to provide a lid latch which is simple and effective.
This invention provides a container comprising a four sided base, four side panels, coupling means coupling said panels respectively to the base at the four sides of the base, said coupling means allowing the panels to be moved between operative condition where they are upstanding on the base and storage condition where the panels lie one over the other over the base, releasable securing means to secure together adjacent edges of the panels when they are upstanding on the base, the panels are arranged in pairs with a first pair of panels of a first height respectively mounted at two opposite sides of the base and coupled by the coupling means to corner posts on the base, the panels of said first pair when upstanding rest on raised rails on the base at opposite sides of said base extending between corner posts of the base and are engaged with retainers on said rails, the other pair of panels are of greater height that said first pair of panels and are respectively coupled by said coupling means to corresponding ends of said rails and when upstanding rest on the base and are engaged with retainers on the base, said coupling means comprises track followers on the panels and tracks in said posts and said rails, said track followers can pivot in said tracks to allow arcuate movement of said panels, each of said tracks has a first portion which is open at one end and communicates at a second end with a track further portion, track followers when engaged in said track first portions can move in directions towards and away from the base to allow the panels after arcuate movement to be stacked one on the other on the base, said track followers when engaged in said further track portions can move in directions substantially parallel to the plane of the base to allow engagement and disengagement of the panels when upstanding with said retainers, all of the panels can be demounted from the base by disengagement of their track followers from the first portions of said tracks through the open ends thereof, the panels of said first panel pair occlude the open ends of the first portions of the rail tracks thereby preventing the removal of the panels of said other panel pair prior to the demounting from the base of the panels of said first panel pair.
This invention further provides a container comprising a four sided base, four side panels, coupling means coupling said panels respectively to the base at the four sides of the base, said coupling means allowing the panels to be moved between operative condition where they are upstanding on the base and storage condition where the panels lie one over the other over the base, releasable securing means to secure together adjacent edges of the panels when they are upstanding on the base, the panels are arranged in pairs with a first pair of panels of a first height respectively mounted at two opposite sides of the base and coupled by the coupling means to corner posts on the base, the panels of said first pair when upstanding rest on raised rails on the base at opposite sides of said base extending between corner posts of the base and are engaged with retainers on said rails, the other pair of panels are of greater height that said first pair of panels and are respectively coupled by said coupling means to corresponding ends of said rails and when upstanding rest on the base and are engaged with retainers on the base, said coupling means comprises track followers on the panels and tracks in said posts and said rails, said track followers can pivot in said tracks to allow arcuate movement of said panels, each of said tracks has a first portion which is open at one end and communicates at a second end with a track further portion, track followers when engaged in said track first portions can move in directions towards and away from the base to allow the panels after arcuate movement to be stacked one on the other on the base, said track followers when engaged in said further track portions can move in directions substantially parallel to the plane of the base to allow engagement and disengagement of the panels when upstanding with said retainers, said retainers comprise hookingly engaged complementarily shaped hooking elements on said panels and on said rails and said base, said securing means including notched members on the panels of said first panel pair and lugs on the panels of said other panel pair shaped to engage in notches of said notched members and when so engaged provide a pivot point for pivotal movement of panels to hookingly engage and disengage said retainers.
This invention also provides a container comprising a four sided base, four side panels, coupling means coupling said panels respectively to the base at the four sides of the base, said coupling means allowing the panels to be moved between operative condition where they are upstanding on the base and storage condition where the panels lie one over the other over the base, releasable securing means to secure together adjacent edges of the panels when they are upstanding on the base, the panels are arranged in pairs with a first pair of panels of a first height respectively mounted at two opposite sides of the base and coupled by the coupling means to corner posts on the base, the panels of said first pair when upstanding rest on raised rails on the base at opposite sides of said base extending between corner posts of the base and are engaged with retainers on said rails, the other pair of panels are of greater height that said first pair of panels and are respectively coupled by said coupling means to corresponding ends of said rails and when upstanding rest on the base and are engaged with retainers on the base, said coupling means comprises track followers on the panels and tracks in said posts and said rails, said track followers can pivot in said tracks to allow arcuate movement of said panels, each of said tracks has a first portion which is open at one end and communicates at a second end with a track further portion, track followers when engaged in said track first portions can move in directions towards and away from the base to allow the panels after arcuate movement to be stacked one on the other on the base, said track followers when engaged in said further track portions can move in directions substantially parallel to the plane of the base to allow engagement and disengagement of the panels when upstanding with said retainers, all of the panels can be demounted from the base by disengagement of their track followers from the first portions of said tracks through the open ends thereof, the panels of said first panel pair occlude the open ends of the first portions of the rail tracks thereby preventing the removal of the track followers of said other panel pair from their associated tracks prior to the demounting from the base of the panels of said first panel pair, and wherein at least one of the panels of said other panel pair is a slip panel having at least one of its track followers retractable to allow subsequent manipulation of the slip panel to disengage it from said base whilst the panels of said first panel pair remain coupled to the base.